Head of Purchasing (Fresh Produce & Food Ingredients)

Company: Gastronaut Foods Pte Ltd

Location: Singapore (monthly travel to Johor Bahru, Malaysia)

Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Seniority: Manager / Head of Department

Industry: Food & Beverage / Wholesale Distribution

Salary: SGD 6,000 per month × 13 months (SGD 78,000 per annum) + performance bonus of up to 9 months' base salary

Expected First-Year Total Compensation: SGD 120,000 – 132,000

Company Overview

Gastronaut Foods is a growing fresh produce distribution business supplying restaurants, hotels, and food manufacturers across Singapore and Malaysia. We import fresh produce, dry goods, and food ingredients from farms and packers in China, Malaysia, Australia, Africa, and the Netherlands, and we are opening a new processing facility in Johor Bahru to support our expansion.

We are seeking an experienced and driven purchasing professional to lead our sourcing function. This is a senior, high-autonomy position reporting directly to the Founder, with full ownership of the company's purchasing strategy and supplier relationships.

The Head of Purchasing is responsible for the total cost, quality, and reliability of all goods purchased by the company. The successful candidate will design and manage our sourcing strategy, lead supplier negotiations, and deliver measurable results in cost, wastage, and order fulfilment — with a performance bonus structure that directly rewards each of these outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

- Lead all purchasing activities, covering fresh produce, dry goods, packaging, and consumables

- Develop and manage the supplier base: identify and onboard new suppliers, consolidate existing ones, and replace underperformers

- Design and execute the cross-border sourcing strategy, determining which products are purchased in Malaysia versus Singapore and how goods move between the two markets

- Establish price benchmarks for each product category and lead contract negotiations, including seasonal and forward purchasing programmes

- Monetise spare import capacity by selling warehouse stock and unused air and sea shipment space to other distributors

- Reduce wastage at the point of purchase through better product specifications, shelf-life requirements on arrival, and order quantity planning

- Ensure purchasing decisions support complete, correct first-trip deliveries to customers

- Negotiate improved payment terms and consignment arrangements with suppliers

- Maintain supplier scorecards covering quality, delivery reliability, credit terms, and compliance

- Document a Singapore–Malaysia sourcing process that operates reliably in your absence

Key Performance Indicators (First 12 Months)

- Cost of goods sold reduced by at least 1.5 percentage points against an audited baseline

- Purchasing-related wastage reduced by at least 25%

- Order lines delivered complete and correct on the first trip at 98% or higher

- Utilisation of consolidated shipments at 85% or higher, with three or more distributors purchasing stock or shipping space from us

- No single supplier accounting for more than 25% of any product category

Requirements

- Minimum 4–7 years of purchasing experience in fresh produce or food ingredients, gained at a distributor, hotel group, restaurant chain, caterer, or large food service organisation

- Established working relationships with growers, packers, or importers in at least two of the following markets: Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, Africa, the Netherlands

- Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings through negotiation and supplier management

- Strong commercial negotiation skills and sound judgement on quality and specifications

- Proficient in building and maintaining price tracking tools in Google Sheets or similar

- Proficiency in Bahasa Melayu and/or Mandarin is a strong advantage (1/2)

- Willing to travel to Johor Bahru approximately once a month

What We Offer

- A performance bonus with three clear components — a share of verified cost savings, a share of verified wastage reduction, and a monthly fulfilment bonus, together capped at 9 months of base salary per year. All baselines and formulas are agreed in writing before you start. Most companies cap purchasing bonuses at 1–2 months; we believe the person who delivers the results should share meaningfully in them

- Direct reporting line to the Founder — decisions are made in days, not quarters

- Full functional authority — you design the sourcing strategy; this is a leadership seat, not an execution role

- Career growth — the business is expanding, and this position grows with it

- A valuable career credential — cross-border Singapore–Malaysia purchasing leadership is a rare and marketable experience in the produce trade

Working Environment & Governance

We operate with clear and firm integrity standards: zero tolerance for kickbacks, written disclosure of any related-party suppliers, founder approval for all new suppliers, and defined purchase authority limits. A 12-month non-compete covering Singapore and Malaysia produce wholesale applies after employment ends.

How to Apply

Please email the following to Sign in to view email:

1. Your CV

2. One paragraph describing the best cost-saving result of your career: the product category, the starting position, the outcome achieved, and how you did it

3. The name of one supplier you would contact in your first week in this role

Cover letters are not required. Applications from recruiters will not be considered unless engaged by us.